INFINITE Ranking King Episode 4 Recap

Although it had its fun moments, this episode was mostly filler and was basically used to tie up the loose ends of Episode 3 as well as ease into the next ranking challenge. We find out who’s the ultimate Brain King, and then move on rather abruptly to brawn (sort of), as the boys set out to compete for the title of Strength King.

EPISODE 3 RECAP

We continue where we left off last week, and just to refresh your memory, Sunggyu was first to be eliminated by Woohyun, followed by Myungsoo and Hoya. So our four final contenders for Brain King are Sungjong, Woohyun, Sungyeol and Dongwoo. Here are the marks as follows:

Sungyeol>Sungjong>Woohyun>Dongwoo>Sungyeol

Sungjong manages to escape the clutches of Sungyeol, and is now on the lookout for a weapon, since Myungsoo took it from him during the sudden attack. Boy has learnt the hard way and covers his target with a white cloth to protect it. Sungyeol’s back in the library and after examining all the rows of books intensely, he finally spots a water gun.

Time to check back with our owner-slave duo, Woohyun and Sunggyu. Seems like Sunggyu is a complete and total sore loser and has begun phase one of his whining act.

“This is no fun,” he starts. Woohyun: “In all games, if you lose, you’ll think it’s not fun.” Sunggyu: “You eliminated me!” Woohyun tries to placate his hyung and explains that the whole reason he eliminated him, was because he wanted to work in a team together. Oh, of course. When Woohyun consults the map and tries to talk strategy with Sunggyu, the latter says childishly, “Don’t try to explain that to me. I don’t care about it now.”

But Woohyun is a glib talker and manages to convince Sunggyu about his intentions, saying that he didn’t want them to be suspicious of each other. They then high five each other. Haha, I don’t understand how anyone can fall for his lines.

At the same time, Myungsoo is feeling invincible (“I’m dead, so I can do anything!”) and finds a way to exact revenge. He bumps into his partner-in-crime, Hoya, and suggests finding a way to make the other members fight and eliminate one another. Myungsoo first shares what he knows with Hoya. He gets the chain mostly right, even deducing that Sunggyu is most likely already eliminated, but he’s assumed that Sungjong is already out of the game, not realising that he’d escaped the attack unscathed.

Myungsoo says mischievously, “I think it’ll be fun if the four of them are gathered at one place…”

Dongwoo’s in a large lobby area in his search for Sungyeol, with only the cameraman trailing after him. He looks at the camera and goes, “If you watch foreign movies…” And then he throws out both his arms and says loudly in English, “Anybody in here?” LOL. He’s on some sort of English streak and starts muttering, “Yeol, Yeol… Hey, guys?”

His little act does bring Sungjong to him and the two meet. Once they’re sure they’re not each other’s mark, Dongwoo says he’s looking for Sungyeol. Sungjong tells him about his earlier encounter with Myungsoo and Sungyeol, asking incredulously, “Why did everyone attack me?” Dongwoo: “You? Because you’re the maknae.” Haha. It’s perfect that the two are teaming up though, since Sungjong needs to eliminate Woohyun and Woohyun is looking to eliminate Dongwoo – they could help each other.

The two are on the third floor and closing in on Woohyun and Sunggyu, who are still seated in a room, resting. Sunggyu is tasked to approach the pair, with Woohyun safely tucked away from sight. As Sunggyu walks up to Sungjong, they do the typical exchange of asking, “I’m not your mark, right?” and “Who’s your mark?”.

While this is going on, Dongwoo is already on high alert and subtly signs to the cameraman to get ready because he’s about to run. And run, he does. He’s quick to ditch Sungjong and climbs up the nearby staircase.

Sunggyu is still trying to tease out a name from Sungjong to find out who his mark is, repeatedly offering to show his own paper with the picture of his mark. The caption that pops up on the screen: “Actor Gyu who graduated from Nam Woohyun Academy”. Haha, Woohyun must be so proud of his slave.

Sungjong immediately falls for Sunggyu’s kind leader act and whips out his paper, just as Sunggyu shows that his prey is Dongwoo. Once Sunggyu sees Sungjong’s paper, he nods understandingly and goes, “Ahh…” as if his very master’s face weren’t plastered on it. He tells Sungjong to try to find out who Dongwoo’s looking to eliminate, and even pats the maknae’s head affectionately. And the winner of Best Actor goes to…

Sungjong meets up with Dongwoo again, and here, I really see why the kid’s placed number six. He simply sucks at being crafty. He tries to put his new knowledge to good use and tricks Dongwoo, telling him that he’s not Sunggyu’s mark, and that Sunggyu’s mark is, instead, Woohyun, and that’s the reason why they’re going around together.

Dongwoo absorbs this easily and smiles happily, telling Sungjong that he’s looking to kill Sungyeol. When Dongwoo asks who Sungjong’s mark is, Sungjong digs himself into a grave when he whispers, “My target is Woohyun hyung.” Even the caption that pops out says, “What. Did. You. Say??”

Dongwoo immediately realises this and calls Sungjong out on his lie. The two have now entered an auditorium in the museum, and Sungjong finally admits to everything. He says that Sunggyu’s real mark is Dongwoo, making him go, “I knew it!”. Dongwoo takes out the paper on which he’d written the chain and shows Sungjong, using the new information to re-evaluate it. He’s written out his new chain, and he’s completely spot-on.

Just then, the screen in the auditorium suddenly comes to life and starts playing a clip from ‘The Chaser’ teaser, confusing the Sungjong and Dongwoo. There’s a reason though, and not long later, the chain is flashed out on the screen. This proceeds to become a bragging session for Dongwoo, who’s so pleased that he managed to figure out the entire INFINITE chain accurately.

Hoya bumps into Woohyun, and freely admits that Dongwoo has already killed him. The two along, with Sunggyu bond for a bit, as Woohyun laughs, revealing how he’d eliminated Sunggyu with not even a water gun, but just a measly bottle of ammo. Hoya says that he’d done the same to Myungsoo.

Meanwhile, Sungyeol has met up with Myungsoo and is practically begging for information. Thinking he’s already eliminated Sungjong, he wants to know who Sungjong’s mark is, so that he can go after him. Myungsoo says that the only three left in the game are Woohyun, Dongwoo and Sungyeol, and adds that the first two are in the floor above. Sungyeol figures that he just has to find Woohyun and eliminate him and is on his way to meet the two. Looks like Myungsoo’s decision to gather the remaining survivors in one place, is going according to plan. Once Sungyeol’s left, Myungsoo turns back and grins at the camera, mouthing the words, “YOU DIE!” Cute.

Sungyeol immediately spots the trio who are still in the middle of their heartwarming bonding session, and whips out his gun to shoot down Woohyun. Hoya pipes up helpfully, “Sungjong is not dead!” Sungyeol argues that he must be, since he clearly shot the boy, but finally concedes that he has to find Sungjong and eliminate him.

Sungyeol proposes to team up with Woohyun, since Sungjong is looking to kill Woohyun, and Woohyun is looking to kill Dongwoo, who’s looking to kill Sungyeol. Here are the marks again, for your benefit:

Sungyeol>Sungjong>Woohyun>Dongwoo>Sungyeol

Woohyun agrees to take down Sungjong and Dongwoo, so that the final battle will be between him and Sungyeol.

But this is all no fun to the three eliminated members who are gathered together. “Hyung, let’s go eat chicken!” suggests Myungsoo. With a last “Work hard!” tossed in Woohyun’s direction, Sunggyu also prepares to get into the lift for their planned feast.

But Woohyun isn’t going to let them leave so easily and tries to get Hoya invested in the game by appealing to his competitive spirit: “Dongwoo killed you, right? Don’t you want to get your revenge?” Myungsoo and Sunggyu really want their chicken though, and beg Hoya not to fall for it, with Myungsoo insisting, “Now it’s two vs. two,” talking about the battle between the newly-formed Woohyun-Sungyeol pair and Sungjong-Dongwoo pair. Which basically translates to “leave us out of it”.

As the five of them get into the lift, Dongwoo spots Sungyeol from a distance and doesn’t waste time making his move. He runs up to the lift door and sticks his weapon in and accurately shoots Sungyeol right in his target. But it’s all so quick and done so stealthily that he doesn’t even notice it until Dongwoo’s about to walk away, saying, “Sungyeol, bye-yeom~” Sungyeol: “…Was I shot?” He examines his target and sees a large green stain and sighs in defeats. The marks now are as follows:

Sungjong>Woohyun>Dongwoo>Sungjong

Sunggyu is still loyal to his master, Woohyun, and lies on his behalf that now that Sungyeol has been eliminated, the only two left are Dongwoo and Sungjong. Dongwoo apologises to him and says that he’s not fooled and is fully aware of the current chain. However, he only knows that Sungyeol, Hoya and Myungsoo are dead, and thinks Sunggyu is still alive, and after him.

As Dongwoo is explaining to them about how he found out about the chain through the video that was flashed on the screen, Hoya discreetly signals to Woohyun, who smiles and immediately attacks Dongwoo’s inner thigh, where his target is placed. Everyone laughs in triumph and Hoya starts pointing at Dongwoo, “You’re an idiot! You’re an idiot!” That means it’s down to Woohyun and Sungjong.

With Sungjong still by himself and wandering around the museum, and the rest of the members gathered together due to pure coincidence, the five eliminated boys band together to help Woohyun beat Sungjong. At this point, I think they all just want the game to end as quickly as possible.

Dongwoo hands over his massive amount of weaponry, as do the rest of the members. I love how Myungsoo looks at the big water gun in Hoya’s possession (which was originally his) and motions for him to give it to Dongwoo. They all push the bulky tubes (that contains their maps and targets) they were lugging around, towards Woohyun, and tell him to take them too, while he’s at it. Haha. Dongwoo also passes his stained target to Woohyun so that he can pretend he’s already been eliminated.

The guy they’re all looking for is complaining that he wants to rest and heads into a quiet room, collapsing onto a seat. Sungjong predicts that Dongwoo would be eliminated by now (correct), but assumes that Sungyeol is still on the lookout for him. He then begins his search for a weapon and finds one in a basket right outside the room he was resting in. It’s also the best and biggest weapon out of all the ones the staff hid around the museum. Let’s hope luck stays on his side.

Woohyun has separated from the pack and is also wandering around alone. Three of the eliminated boys are sprawled in the library, chatting restlessly. Sunggyu: “This week’s show is screwed! If I don’t show up a lot, it won’t be fun.” And then he adds, as if trying to convince everyone, “Actually, I’m smart.” Dongwoo just stares at him, “…We didn’t say anything about you.” He then proceeds to make fun of Sunggyu, saying how he always starts out in third place, but ends up last.

Hoya is aimlessly walking around and goes up to the fourth floor, only to discover Sungjong. Hoya must be feeling nice because he quickly brings Sungjong into a maze-like room and tells him how everyone is on Woohyun’s side and searching for him. “I’ll help you though,” he says sweetly. Sungjong isn’t about to trust anyone and backs away from Hoya, only to bump into Sungyeol. Panicked, he starts blindly shooting everything in his way as he stumbles around the maze, towards the exit. He wrangles out of Sungyeol’s grasp, and bolts.

I’m sure in a normal circumstance, it would occur to Sungjong that there’s no way that could have happened, since Dongwoo was looking for Sungyeol and Sungyeol’s target is Sungjong. But looking at Woohyun’s stained green target stops Sungjong in his tracks, and utterly confuses him. He tails Woohyun and continues shooting at the fake target. Woohyun insists, “Why are you doing this? I’m dead already!”

Hoya who isn’t in on the target fakeout, looks at the camera and goes, “So Sungjong is the winner?” Not so fast. Just when Sungjong’s about to celebrate his supposed win, Woohyun makes his move and drowns the Sungjong’s target with his gunshot, so it soaks through the white cloth that was covering it. He then lifts his arm to show his real target, and it’s spotless – so that means Woohyun has successfully managed to scheme his way to the top.

All seven are back where they started and are reflecting about the various events of the past three to four hours. A few of them make fun of Sungjong, saying how he didn’t really do much during the challenge and was probably just running around the museum. Sunggyu says, “If you watch the broadcast later, you’ll only appear when we say ‘Start!’ and then when you’re dead.” Woohyun: “Wait, Sunggyu talks a lot. How dare the last place say that to the second place?” Hee. Sunggyu’s rebuttal: “If you think about, I was dead before eliminating anyone, right? Same goes for him, he didn’t eliminate anyone either. We’re at the same level.”

As Woohyun proudly claims his number one ranking, the rest of the members tease Sunggyu, calling him “Gol-Gyu”, which means “Last place-Gyu”. Sunggyu indignantly promises to get first place the next time, and says that if he comes in last again, he’ll acknowledge the “Gol-Gyu” nickname the boys have given him.

…And then we skip right ahead to the next week, where the boys are gathered in a gymnasium, dressed in matching white T-shirts, except each one has a cartoon version of themselves printed on it. These are the ‘uniforms’ that Sungjong promised when he attained first place back in Episode 2. As they wonder why they’re at a gym and made to wear trackpants, Sunggyu says, “After I found out what the filming location was, I was flustered…” He worries that he won’t be able to get first place, probably because anything sports-related isn’t his strength.

They look at the ranking that’s already been laid out, as voted by the fans. This time, Hoya’s in first place, followed by Woohyun, Dongwoo, Sungyeol, Myungsoo, Sungjong, and then Sunggyu in last place. They’re not told what the challenge today is yet, so the members speculate.

Since Hoya’s number 1, they think about the things that Hoya’s good at, and say that he’s best at dance, and things related to body movements. But then, what about Woohyun, since he’s number 2, what are the things he good at? “Being fake?” Sungyeol offers. Hehe. Hoya: “MC-ing ability!” This just makes Woohyun laugh, in a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me way. “Then you’re first and I’m second?” he asks. And then he goes, “What we need to pay attention to is the fact that Sunggyu is in last place again.” Hoya: “But after seeing Sunggyu’s ranking, I can’t guess what it’s based on… because there are so many things that he could be ranked last in.”

It’s time for a round of Special INFINITE Olympics, as the boys compete for the title of Strength King. Sunggyu and Sungjong argue about who sucks more at sports with Sunggyu declaring, “Out of all the people I’ve met for the past 24 years, out of the people who I see with my own eyes, you’re the worst at sports!” All the while, Myungsoo is just silently holding up a “Leader Gol-Gyu” sign above Sunggyu’s head, which the staff had specially prepared beforehand.

Next, we’re introduced to our two commentators and one of them feels that being the youngest, Sungjong would probably be at an advantage. As the INFINITE members wait at the side to be called out one-by-one and be introduced by the commentators for their grand athlete’s entrance, it’s their chance to be memorable.

First up is Sunggyu, who confidently strides in, clapping his hands. The commentator makes a remark about how one of his nicknames is Old-Gyu, because he really doesn’t like to move. Sungjong enters, bowing and waving. Myungsoo does a few showy stretches before joining the two. When the commentators mention how Myungsoo’s nickname is “chocolate eyes” because of his ahem, sweet gaze, which totally cracks the boy up.

Sungyeol goes for a janitor concept and comes out mopping the floor, making everyone laugh. Dongwoo’s next and he does a few forward rolls on the floor, and the commentator says, “They really have good teamwork. The previous athlete was cleaning the floor, and the next person is rolling on it. He prepared a clean spot for Dongwoo.” LOL.

INFINITE’s “heart machine” is next, and Woohyun runs out and jogs a few circles around the members before throwing hearts into the nonexistent audience. First place Hoya is plugged in as he comes out, full-on dancing.

But we’ll have to wait till next week before the actual match starts and we find out whether Hoya will come out on top, and whether Sunggyu will indeed maintain his position as “Gul-Gyu”.

Comments:

For me, this episode was quite half-half, in the way that we get the last 30 minutes of the Brain challenge, before time-jumping to a week later and landing in a completely different location altogether. Of course, I understand the editors’ dilemma since there’s too much content from Episode 3 to fit entirely into one 45-minute viewing, but at the same time, there’s not enough to completely fill two episodes. Because of this, I feel like the audience didn’t really get a chance to ‘breathe’ after the action-packed museum mission, before we’re abruptly shifted to the next Ranking King challenge.

Other than that, I was really hoping Sungjong would beat out Woohyun for first place during the mission, proving everyone wrong while he was it. He was the ultimate underdog for me, and it’s quite a feat to get as far as he did without eliminating anyone in the process (though… he did try), like Sunggyu mentioned at the end. He’s so innocent and nice, that even when he tries to be sneaky (like his complete embarrassment of a lie to Dongwoo) or make a scathing remark, it comes off so harmless. To be honest though, I was half-expecting a Dongwoo-Woohyun finale battle, because these two completely played the game, and everyone in it.

I did feel, however, that the energy dipped towards the end of the Brain challenge, especially since most of the members have already been eliminated and are just hanging around, passing time. You have to keep in mind though, that by that point, all seven boys have already been going round and round the same museum for more than three hours, and are more than a little exhausted. In fact, I thought the members who were eliminated earlier on, did a pretty decent job of still being actively involved in the game whilst commanding some extra screentime (like Hoya’s and Myungsoo’s decision to try to shake things up, for example), when they could have easily just given up and rested somewhere (something I think Sunggyu was probably dying to do).

After the action-packed challenge we got, it’s nice to take things down just a notch with the next challenge, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the boys embarrass themselves with the various sporty challenges. Something tells me they won’t completely be limited to physically-demanding activities though.

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Dinoseoul is a Korean-entertainment website based in Singapore. It covers a wide variety of topics ranging from music reviews, film recaps, event coverage as well as interesting news that you likely won’t find elsewhere.

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Dinoseoul is a Korean-entertainment website based in Singapore. Here you will find a wide variety of topics ranging from music reviews, film recaps, event coverage as well as interesting news that you likely won’t find elsewhere.